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THE 



PRESERVATION 



REPUBLIC 



AN ORATION DELIVEEED BEFORE THE MCXICIPAL AUTHORITIES AND CITIZENS 
OP PROVIDENCE, 



JULY 4, II 



By AUGUSTUS WOODBURY. 




PROVIDENCE: 

KNOWLES, ANTUONY & CO., CITY PRINTERS. 

18 6 2. 



I 



T ir E 



PRESERVATION 



REPUBLIC 



AN ORATION DELIVERED BEFORE THE MDNICIPAL AUTHORITIES AND CITIZENS 
OF PROVIDENCE, 



JULY 4, 1802. 



By AUGUSTUS WOODBURY. 




TROVIDENCE: 

KNOWI.ES, ANTHONY & CO., CITY PUTNTERS. 

186 2. 



t^ 






CITY OF PROVIDENCE. 




RESOLUTIONS PASSED BY THE CITY COUXCTL, JULY 14, 1S02. 

Eesolved, That the thanks of this body be, and they are licrcby, tendei-ed to 
Uev. AuGUSTLS WooDnuRY, for the able and eloquent Oration delivered by liim 
at the late municipal celebration of the anniversary of American Independence. 

Resolved, That the Committee appointed to make arrangements for that cele- 
bration be, and they are hereliy, authorized to request a copy of said Oration for 
l)ubli(atii)u, and to cause five hundred copies of the same to be published in pam- 
phlet form, fur the use of the City Council. 

AVitncss: SAMUEL W. BROWN, City Cleuk. 



61505 ' 



SS' 



R A T I N 



My Fellow Countrymen: — 

There is no subject to demand our attention to-day 
other than this : — The Pkeservation of the Republic. 
For the second time in our history, this anniversary 
occurs amid the strifes of civil war. The demonstra- 
tions of popular interest, which mark the day, com- 
memorate not alone the fidelity of those who founded 
the Republic, but also the valor of those who are at- 
tempting to preserve it. The men of the nation on the 
field of battle, the women of the nation in the hospital 
and at their homes, are alike contending for civiliza- 
tion, loyalty and freedom, against barbarism, treason 
and slavery. The conflicting ideas of our national life 
interchange hostilities at the pd?nt of the bayonet and 
the cannon's mouth. Thc.'pn-th^es of the West, the hill- 
sides and valleys of A'irginia, the islands of the Houth 
and the waters of the Mississippi, have witnessed the 
sacrifices, the exploits, the brave living and noble dying, 
which seem to recall the heroic ao-es. The cataloo-ue 
of names which hffve shed new lustre on American his- 
tory, has become almost too tedious to recite. The 



4 ORATION. 

army alid the navy, the council board, the Executive 
chamber, have shown, that for bravery, skill, adminis- 
trative power and knowledge of affairs, the sires of '76 
have no cause to be ashamed of the sons of '62. Now, 
as then, the martyrs to the cause of a nation's indepen- 
dence, leaving a trail of glory as they have passed 
away, above the smoke and din of battle, are manifest- 
ing the supreme value of liberty. Divine Providence, 
subjecting the nation to this severe discipline of strife, 
is proving to us, that national existence and the bless- 
ings of a free government, which demanded of the fa- 
thers a sublime patience and untold sufiering, are worth, 
to the sons, all the treasure, tears, toils and blood which 
now they cost. 

AVlien the rebellion, which has convulsed the nation, 
first uiade itself manifest in arms, few persons looked 
forward to a long continuance of hostilities. The whole 
movement seemed so anomalous ; the interests of hu- 
manity and civilization were so averse to the attempt 
of the Soutliern States to destroy the government which 
had nurtured them into importance and power; and the 
object lor which the disruption of the Union was inau- 
gurated — the perpetuation of negro slavery — was so 
abhorrent to the moral sense of the civilized world, as 
to cause all right-minded persons to suppose that the 
war would be of short duration. Surely, the enlight- 
ened conscience of mankind must condemn an enter- 
prise which, if successful, would restore the ages of 
barbarism. An undertaking like that must certainly 
be shamed into absolute impotence at its very com- 
mencement. At home, there was needed but the 
uprising of the people of the Northern States. — tlie 
unexpected union of all parties and all opinions, in 



ORATION. 5 

behalf of the existing government, the unlooked-for 
development of the sentiment of loyalty to ideas and 
institutions, to assure the people of the South that their 
dreams of the success of treason were a delusion. The 
political wickedness, that sought in anarchy an outlet 
for its rage, must shrink appalled from the schemes which 
it was plotting, as it saAV the certainty of their failure — 
and in their failure its own terrible and disgraceful fate. 
Abroad, there could be no sympathy with a cause which 
had nothing to recommend it but its audacity and its 
pretensions. England, the professed friend of freedom, 
could not strike hands with those who were attempting 
to subvert a government which was pledged to liberty. 
France, the professed friend of order, could not make a 
league with a pretended confederacy, whose bond of 
union was a rope of sand, and which could result in 
nothing but continuous anarchy. Eussia, taking her 
place in the front rank of nations, by the emancipation 
of her serfs, could have no feeling of respect for the 
struggles of a power whose very existence is a shame 
to the humanity of our age. Italy, liberated from the 
yoke of tyrants, by the honorable valor of Victor 
Emanuel and the fearless genius of Garibaldi, could 
only look with loathing upon an enterprise which was 
at variance with all the ideas for whose sake she has 
suffered through so many years. Spain, slowest and 
most tenacious of nations, could furnish no aid or com- 
fort to a people who had tried once and again to wrest 
from her the brightest jewel of her ancient crown. 
Thus, many persons reasoned, and thought that a cause, 
which, in itself intrinsically weak, had no right to ex- 
pect assistance from foreign powers, must soon come to 
an untimely and ignominious end. 



b OK A T I K . 

Two unexpected characteristics of the struggle were 
not taken into account. One was, the desperate earn- 
estness of the rebels themselves ; the other was, the 
eflfect of the pressure of self-interest upon the two lead- 
ing powers of Europe. Added to the latter, was the 
growing jealousy towards free institutions — and towards 
a Kepuljlic that was successfully vindicating their power, 
on the part of the monarchical governments of the old 
world. The Union, in its integrity and prosperity, is a 
perpetual menace to the stability of the thrones of Eu- 
rope, because it is proving the capacity of the people 
for self-government, and is a perpetual protest against 
the Divine right of kings. Yet, the administration of 
Mr. Lincoln, pledged to the support of the ideas of the 
age, was warranted in anticipating from the civilized 
powers of the world, the most cordial expressions of in- 
terest, the fullest countenance and the readiest co-oiDcra- 
tion. Theprogress of events has proved that these were 
not needed ; but we certainly were justified in hoping 
for their manifestation. 

During the last year, it has been clearly proved that 
the rebellious States were really determined to dissever 
their connection with the federal Union. They were 
thorouglily in earnest. With all the passionate fervor 
for which the people of a Southern clime are distin- 
guished, they were ready to go to all extremes for the 
accomplishment of their purpose. They have made 
great sacrifices ; they have sulfered great privations ; 
they have endured unwonted toils and hardships ; they 
have bravely confronted danger and death. We cannot 
but confess, that their perseverance in the midst of 
dilliculties. their pertinacity, their persistent confidence 
in ultimate success, even in the midst of discourau^e- 



ORATION 



ments and disasters, are exceedingly creditable to 
Southern character. Their declaration of independence 
was not a mere paper pronunciamento. They have 
proved that they were willing to stand by it and defend 
it. They have shed mnch blood for its sake. They 
have exhibited considerable ability, and much vigilance, 
shrewdness and daring. In a just cause, they would 
almost seem to have deserved success. 

But there is something in the principle for which 
they are contending, which warps the judgment, infects 
the reason with strange sophistries, distorts the moral 
perceptions, corrupts the conscience, and hardens the 
heart. Its dishonest}', its flilsehood, its disregard of the 
most sacred obligations, its desecration of the most 
solemn oaths, compacts and sanctions, its utter shame- 
lessness and savageness, have effectually neutralized all 
the virtues that would naturally be educed among a 
people that professed to be struggling for freedom. It 
depraves man ; it unsexes woman. Treason, alwa3's 
unlovely, especially so when it is directed against a 
beneficent government,becomes absolutely abhorrent in. 
the aspect which it has presented among the American 
people. It is a matter of profoundest sorrow, that the 
energy and enthusiasm, which it has manifested, should 
be so grossly and so wickedly misdirected. The loyal 
supporters of the government could not readily under- 
stand the desperate nature of the strife to which they 
were called. We hardly knew that we were really at 
war with an alert and resolute foe, who was determined 
to ruin, when he found that he could no longer rule the 
government. We could scarcely believe it possible, 
that American institutions could have developed a 
movement so utterly contradictory to all our theories, 



8 ORATION. 

and so suicidal in itself. My fellow citizens, it is not an 
American institution that has engendered this strife. 
It is an institution foreign to tlie jDolicy "vvhich the fa- 
thers of the Republic desired to inaugurate, — foreign to 
the principles which they endeavored to enunciate, — 
foreign to the civilization which they wished to estalj- 
lisli, and foreign to the empire of humanity which they 
struggled to found. They hoped, that in the mighty 
growth of freedom, this poisonous parasite would wither. 
Their hope was vain ; for, as the tree of liberty spread 
its branches to the sky, the clinging vine wound itself 
more closely around them, till nothing but the sword 
could free them from its deadly embrace. AVe have 
been rudely awakened to a knowledge of its true 
character, as m'C have been forced to gather its bitter 
fruits. 

It lias also been clearly proved, that the loyal people 
of the nation must preserve the Republic bv their own 
unaided exertions. But little sympathy and no aid 
from abroad are to be expected. Russia, true to her 
traditions, and now pressing forward in a new career of 
greatness, was cordial in her expressions of friendship. 
Italy was occupied with her own great strife for free- 
dom. ►Spain looked coldly on, an almost indifferent 
spectator. France and England, falsifying all former 
professions, acknowledged the belligerent character of 
both parties, and stood ready to recognize the Southern 
Confederacy as soon as a moderate degree of success on 
the part of the rebels would warrant such a measure. 
The goveraments of those two countries professed and 
proclaimed a neutrality, all whose disadvantages were 
intended to i'all upon the United States, and all whose 
benefits were desiuned to accrue to the rebels in amis. 



ORATION. 9 

There have been, and arc still, in the kingdoms of 
Europe, large parties of men giving tone to the govern- 
ment, who, imquestionalily, would rejoice at the hope- 
less severance of our national ties. The young Re- 
public of the West, in its rapid and powerful growth, 
was becoming a too important power among the nations. 
Democracy w\as intrinsically feeble ; and, if the experi- 
ment of self-government should prove a failure on the 
very field which it had chosen, and which furnished the 
best opportunities for success, the thrones of Europe 
were safe for centuries. The struggling masses of 
European peoples could have no further incitement to 
seek in revolution the cure for the ills of tyranny. 
Were Republicanism proved, by its own want of success, 
to have no elements of stability and no inspiration to 
loj-alt}", and to become only the parent of civil discord, 
the monarchists of the old world w^ould have an irre- 
futable argument against all the reasonings of the 
advocates of liberty. So, the statesmen of England told 
the w^orld that the " bubble of Democracy had burst." 
So, the potentates of Europe began to look upon the 
United States as a power Avhich could be of no fiu-ther 
importance in deciding the destiny of human civiliza- 
tion. So, the monarchical party went as far as it dared, 
in giving assistance and encouragement to the revolted 
States. But there is no logic like the logic of events. 
There is no argument like the argument of success. 
Franklin declared, in 1777, that the cause of the Ameri^' 
can colonies then was the " cause of all mankind," and 
that the soldiers of the Revolution " were fio-hting for 
the liberties of all men as mcII as their own." The 
cause of the United States to-day has not changed its 
character. It is still the '* cause of all mankind." Now, 
2 



10 ORATION. 

as then, we are fifrhtino^ for the liljcrties of all men, as 
well as our own. Our soldiers, in the field, have proved, 
hy their hra\ e exploits and their continued victories, 
that they understand the nature of the contest. Let 
our statesmen, in council, be as wise in their policy, and 
our country will become — as once it was fondly hoped — 
" the pole-star to which, Irom all sides, the eyes of 
strugglin*^^ nations turn." 

But on what plea has the preservation of the Ee- 
public l)ecome the necessity of our times ? They, whose 
parricidal hands have been raised to destroy the mother 
who has nursed them, must present to the enlightened 
conscience of mankind some- justification of their con- 
duct, if they wish to escape universal condemnation. 
They, who desire to divide the Eepublic, must oiler 
some defence for their action. If the Kepublic repre- 
sents the best government in the world ; if it means 
peace, civilization and human j^rogress ; if the Union is, 
to all nations, the symbol of liberty and law, then it 
must follow, that they, who are attempting its destruc- 
tion, must ])e chara'ed with the eaiilt of a crime against 
humanity ! AVliat have they to answer to the charge ? 
We must remember, that this contest, relieved of the 
dilferent prejudices and partizan selfishness which 
gather about it on either side, is to be decided, not in 
the present age, but before the tribunal of history, 
which, with calm and miimpassioned judgment, is to 
weigh the cause. Behind the minor pleas, which are 
ofiered, and which are merely preliminary to the trial — 
such as the maintenance of state sovereignty, the fear 
of interference with local institutions and the rights of 
property, the apprehension of unjust and 0])pressive 
measures on the jtart of the ruling Administration, the 



11 A T I N . 11 

gradual but certain rise to superior power on tlie pai-t 
of the free States, and others like these — 1)e]iin(l all, I 
say, is the great plea uhich absorbs all, the liiglit of 
Ptevoliition. The revolting States claim that they are 
contending' for their indejiendence, and draw a parallel 
between their own struggle and that of the fathers of 
the Eevolution, Never was there a ni(u-e inifounded 
claim, or a more fallacious inference. The fathers were 
struggling against a despotism, hateful to all sense of 
justice and destructive of all principles of liberty. They 
Avere rebels against an oppressive and tyrannical gov- 
ernment, which allowed them no share in its adminis- 
tration. But the rebels of our da}' are striving to per- 
petuate a despotism, as hateful as any that the world 
has seen. They have taken arms against a mild, 
beneficent, forbearing government, whose gift of free- 
dom and whose ofter of participation in the direction of 
aflliirs, they reject with scorn. 

What is the Eight of Revolution ? It is the last 
resort — tlie ultima ratio — of an oppressed people, when 
all other means have failed, to secure the possession of 
rights and liberties which are endangered, or to regain 
them when they have been lost. I firmly believe in 
that right. It is the salvation of the people from the 
encroachments of a rapacious, unscrupulous and cruel 
despotism. AVlien the popular voice is hushed ; when 
popular representation is refused ; when popular liberty 
is trampled imder foot — then the people have the right 
to turn against the oppressor, and to achieve their inde- 
pendence, if possil)le, by the weapons which God and 
nature have put into their hands. The progress of 
civilization tends to induce obedience to unjust laws, 
while there is a hopeful prospect of their repeal. But 



10 

" ORATION. 



wlien that prospect is liopeless, civilization demands 
revolution, for the sake of justice itself While men 
submit to a particular oppressive enactment, they a«ail 
with all disposable force, the .system from which it pro' 
ceeds Thus, as intelligence widens, and the ideas of 
popular justice and popular liberty become better un- 
derstood, local outbreaks become less frequent, while 
as the ultimate, revolutions become more powerful and 
more wide. The victories of peace are achieved by the 
revo utions of opinion. When war can no lon^r be 
avoided, the victories of freedom are achieved by revo- 
hitions of force. " There can be no doubt," says Henry 
Thomas Buckle, speaking on this point with equal wis^ 
dom and vigor, "There can be no doubt, that this 
change IS beneficial; partly because it is always sood 
to nse from effects to causes, and partly because revo- 
lutions being less frequent than insurrections, the peace 
of society would be more rarely disturbed, if men con- 
fined themselves to the larger remedy. At the .same 
time msurrections are generally wrong ; revolutions 
a.e always right. An insurrection is too often the mad 
and passionate effort of ignorant person.,, who are im- 
patient under .some immediate injury, and never stop 
to investigate its remote and general causes. But a 

sTr, d*r'' T'^'" '* ?' *'" "°* <"' *'"^ "^"°" "•'^'f' i« ^ 
T ' ""'' .""P°'''"S ^P^«f-->«'«' because to the moral 
uali y of ,n,Iignation produced by the presence of evil, 
"adds the intellectual qualities of foresight and com- 
bmation; and, uniting in the same act .,ome of the 
Inghest properties of our nature, it achieves a double 
purpose, not only punishing the oppressor, but relieving 
the oppressed." It is true, that there is .such a tliiu. a^ 
8 destroymg re^oluliou as well as a preserving revolu- 



ORATION. 13 

tion. The latter is indeed a mngnlficent exliibition of 
the will and power of a people. The former is a spec- 
tacle whicli has no element of snbUmity other tlian the 
terror which it excites. A people, rising against the 
prescriptions of a long-existing despotism, and success- 
fully disputing the assumed prerogatives of ancient 
tyranny and wrong, commands the admiration of all 
men. A people, in the interest of injustice, attempting 
to assert the rights of oppression against the progress 
of ideas and the welfare of the human race, commands 
their detestation. A people, deluded by false ideas of 
independence, voluntarily committing suicide, by re- 
sisting the requirements of justice and rejecting the 
oflers of freedom, commands their pity. 

The Eight of Revolution, which the fathers of the 
Republic asserted, was evolved from the first of these 
movements. A revolution, such as was that which 
resulted in our national independence, was " a splen- 
did and imposing spectacle." The nations of the world 
looked upon its progress with amazement, and its 
event with undisguised approbation. It was the vin- 
dication of the power of ideas over the mere force of 
armies and fleets. It was the united action of a peo- 
ple, few in number indeed, and scattered over a wide 
territory, but strong in the might of a noWe purpose, 
and utterly invincible in the faith of great principles. 
On the fields of the war of the Revolution, the power 
of a people for self-government armed itself against the 
power of kings. Democracy contended with monarchy 
for the possession of the Western Continent. So far as 
events are concerned, the history of the Revolutionary 
war has no remarkable characteristics. The armies 
were few in number. The battles were scarcely more 



14 ORATION. 

than skirmislief5. The sieges were but little more tlmu 
obstinate blockades. The campaigns vreve not much 
greater than marches and counter-marches — alternate 
advance and retreat. New England was saved by a. 
few companies of militia, acting almost independently 
of each other, even in battle, and then melting away. 
New York was preserved by the accidental discover}^ of 
a shallow conspiracy. The Middle States were freed 
by a few nocturnal adventures. The South was de- 
livered by partizan warfare of the most irregular kind. 
The most interesting operations of the war were at 
Bunker Hill, at the beginning, and at Yorktown, at the 
close — paralleled, it may be, in our time, b}^ Bull Run 
and Eichmond. The rest were the different acts of a 
drama, whose closing scene was the freedom of a conti- 
nent. That, in brief, is the story of the Revolutionary 
war. The soldiers were undisciplined and the officers 
unpracticed. Compared with the gigantic movements 
of European armies, and the training of the regular 
soldiers of the old world; compared with the immense 
array and the sanguinary battles of the present con- 
test, the war in which our ancestors were engaged was 
an insignificant affiiir. But there is a force behind fleets 
and armies and above the clouds of battle — an invisible, 
sometimes incomprehensible, almost always invincible, 
force — the concentrated, earnest energy of a people 
Avho are willim;' to dare and to endure all tliin!2:s for 
their liberty. The tlu'ce millions. Hinging their pa- 
tience into the scale, fairly outweighed the thirty mil- 
lions with their brute strength. What gives that war 
of our fithers such interest for ourselves and such value 
in tlie progress of civilization, is its character as a strug- 
gle Ibr great principles and ideas. For the realization 



ORATION. 15 

of sncli ideas, and tlie application of tlioso ])riiici].l«"s to 
national life, as tUcy were oxpivssed in tla- Declaration 
of Independence and aftcnvards ('oiisolidatcd in the 
Constitution Avhicli made the United States a i)()\vcr in 
the world, the right of revolution was allinned — was 
maintained — was estal)lishcd. It was the li-iit of revo 
lution against the jiower ol" tyranny. It was an enter- 
prise undertaken with earnestness, yet with sorrow ; 
for England was the mother country still. When all 
other means and measures failed to secure the freedom 
of the people, the sword was taken, and was taken not 
in vain. The contest ended, as all such contests must 
end. in the complete triumph of civilization, humanity 
and justice. 

But what security was tliere against the repetition of 
those scenes ? The fathers alUrmed the right of revo- 
lution. In the throes of the contest the nation was 
born. "What should prevent, in future years, the birth 
of other nations ? How should all the various parts be 
held together, so that, to the end of time, a people, 
living in the practice of Democratic theories and suc- 
cessfully governing themselves, should dwell beneath 
one flag — shielded beneath one broad a^gis ? The fa- 
thers could not ensure the nation against treason. But 
they did ensure it against revolution. AVhatever could 
be done to preserve the Eepublic, by placing around it 
the safeguards of popular protection, they did. They 
removed the dangers of revolution by removing all 
occasion for it. They left to the people the jiower and 
the opportunity of governing themselves. What was 
wrong in the government could be rectilled l)y the 
people, because in the people the government itself 
resided. The source of all power was iu the people. 



16 ORATION. 

They were really the rulers ; and, if those -whom they 
had chosen to do their bidding usurped despotic power, 
the 2^eople always had the remedy in their own hands. 
The redress of all grievances, whether fancied or real, 
was to be found within easy grasp of the people's all- 
reaching hand. There is no such right — there can be 
no such right in our country — as the Right of Revolu- 
tion. For, by the very compact which is the charter of 
the nation — by the Federal Constitution — the people 
are the sole judges of their own wrongs, and the sole 
executive of their own will. The means of a peaceful 
removal of all troubles, causes of dissension, sources of 
strife, occasions of war, are with themselves, and are 
provided for them by the terms of the instrument to 
which they give a silent or a public assent. Thus, the 
diflerent departments of government — the judicial 
only and wisely excepted — are placed in the control of 
the people, at stated intervals of two, four and six years. 
Upon all public officers rest the sanctions of the most 
solemn oaths. The privileges of debate, in public as- 
semblies and in the halls of legislation, are restricted 
only by the rules of parliamentary courtesy and order. 
The sulTrages of the people are, with trifling exceptions, 
made as free as consists with the salutary preservation 
of public tranquillity. Whatever abuses may be con- 
nected with the practice of voting, and to whatever 
corruptions it may be exposed, the ballot-box still con- 
tinues to be as just an exponent of the popular will as 
can be possible among any people. Even to prevent 
the abuses of power in individual instances, the poorest 
and meanest offender against his country's laws must 
he tried before a jury of his countrymen, whom he has 
the right to challenge if not to select ; while the chief 



R A T I N . 17 

magistrate liimsolf, comiim- IVom tho pooplc nnd return- 
ing to the people in the short period of four years, la 
liable, in his brief onreiM- of j)()\ver, to be impeached, for 
any betrayal of liis trust or malfeasance of olHce, by the 
direct representatives of the ])eoj)le, and tried by the 
conclave of the representatives of the difl'erent States. 
Moreover, the Constitution makes provision for its own 
amendment, -when that becomes necessary by the 
changes of time and the demands of the country, by 
reference to the people as the fountain of authority. 
Thus, by all the methods which the wisdom or the 
experienceof centuries of human life could suggest, did 
the fathers provide against the terrible scourge of civil 
war growing out of revolution. As they did not antici- 
pate that any generation of American citizens could l)e 
so far lost to all sense of justice, all regard for truth and 
all love of country, as to plot the overthrow of the 
government which was at once the source of power and 
the safeguard against domestic and foreign foes, they 
made no provision for such — to them inconceivable — 
contingency. As they did not anticipate that any por- 
tion of the American people — the fruit of their own 
loins — would be so base as to seek to avenge a defeat at 
the polls by taking up arms against the Republic, they 
could adopt no measures having such an object in view, 
except to treat that action as the very worst of treason, 
and those who should be engaged in it as the very 
wickedest of traitors. Let us not attempt to dignify 
this basest of all crimes by the name of revolution. It 
is — it can be — nothing less and nothing more than 
armed treason and rebellion — treason and rebellion the 
most repulsive in their aspects, and the most iniquitous 



18 ORATION. 

in their characteristics, of any that the civiUzcd world 
has ever witnessed. 

Nor let it be dignified by the name of "a struggle for 
independence." Earl Russell, echoing the voice of a 
party which has always opposed him, may attempt to 
excite some sympathy for the rebellious States, by de- 
claring the civil war in this country to be a " struggle 
for power on the part of the North, and for indepen- 
dence on the part of the >South." Never was there a 
greater fallacy. The struggle for power in this country 
has always been carried on by the peaceful strife of the 
suffrages of the people. For a long term of years, the 
seat of power has been in the Southern States. They 
have been able, by various means which it is not now 
necessary to specify, to control all departments of the 
government. The institution of slavery, by its false 
interpretation both of Divine and human laws, by its 
flagrant violations of the spirit of the Constitution, by 
its insolent assumptions of superiority, b}^ its aristo- 
cratic pretensions, by its alliance with the profits of 
trade and the rewards of party, has proved to be au 
element of great political power to those who were its 
representatives. Gradually, as the moral intelligence 
of the nation increased, and the love of freedom gath- 
ered strength, the institution of slavery was weakoied. 
Its triumphs of late years have been worse than defeats 
for it — apples of Sodom, fai>' without but full of bittei- 
ness and ashes within. Gradually, the spirit of liberty 
pervaded the ^loarts of the p<'ople. It took form, at. 
last, at 11!' .;i'jt-box. Year l)y year, it increased in 
power, till at hist 'hy poncefAil, legal, constitutional 
means — such as the fatliers had devised — it placed ir^ 
hand upon the sceptre of state and assumed the gov- 



R A T 1 O N . 



19 



ernment of the Ec]-)\il)li(\ T\\a\ \\-a< llio stniL'-p:!^ for 
independence, result in Li- in tlie victorv ol IVcmmIohi. 'I'lie 
spirit of slavery, l)lind witli passion, mad with rage, 
exasperated by defeat, feelini!: its ]n")\ver slippin<i: from 
its grasp, lifted its haiid.witli inurdcrous intent, against 
the nation's life. It would not submit to the will of the 
majority. It refused to bow to the verdict of the peo- 
ple. Kejecting terms of peace, it made its declaration 
of war. Taking the sword, it is fulfilling the Scriptural 
declaration, that it shall - pcri.-h by the sword;" for 
the fate of the institution of slavery is determined. It 
may strive to avoid it. It may seek the means of pro- 
longing its life through a few short years. But the 
movements of freedom are forward — not backward. 
At every foil of the ensign of secession, there must fall 
Avitli it a link in the fetters of the slave. Our oppo- 
nents have been willing to destroy the Union for the 
sake of slavery. They must not coui])lain if we fiud 
it necessary to destro}^ slaveiy for the sake of the 
Union. The time is coming, when the preservation of 
the Republic will be the permanent triumph of liberty. 
Already is the Capital freed from the burdens of op- 
pression. Alread}^ are the wide territories of the West 
consecrated to freedom. State after State will hear the 
joyful sound which rings in the '• acceptable year." As 
the triumphs of the Union extend, and the flag, around 
which gathers a nation's hope, once more iloats in 
triumph and peace, the air will no longer be burthened 
by the sighs of the slave. The Union means peace, and 
the Union means freedom for all within its borders. 
The Republic, disenthralled, is rising from the heat of 
this great contest, shaped, in its colossal proportions, in 
the mould of virtue and justice. It will go forward in 



20 ORATION. 

the way whicli Providence has marked, exercising its 
beneficent might for the good of all kindreds and peo- 
ples, and leading the -world in the advance of ideas and 
the progress of civilization ! 

Fortunate for us. that this magnificent undertaking 
has, in the decrees of Providence, been committed to 
the direction of him who now bears the title of "The 
President of the United States." The plain republican 
whom the West has given us, has, in a wonderful de- 
gree, succeeded in winning the confidence of his coun- 
trymen. His honesty of purpose, his sincerity of heart, 
his practical sagacity, his incorruptible integrity, have 
received, as they have deserved, our unalloyed commen- 
dation. Fully alive to the responsibilities and the 
duties of the hour, looking with clear eye through all 
the sophistries of partizans on the one side, and all the 
rhapsodies of enthusiasts on the other side, he sees pre- 
cisely the right measure to be adopted and the time for 
its suggestion. He takes no step backward, because 
every step which he takes, dictated by the purest pa- 
triotism, is a step sure and steadfast. We thought him 
to be sin)ply an honest man, and rejoiced that at last 
we possessed an honest man in our politics. We have 
found him to be a statesman worthy to sit in the chair 
once occupied by a Washington. Learning to look be- 
neath the ungainly and, as some may think, uncouth 
exterior, we value more the genuine, unchallenged 
manhood, which there we find, than the external polish 
which glosses over political villainy. In honoring 
him, we honor ourselves. Judging from his past acts, 
we have the right to expect, in the future, still better 
and greater deeds. I may have no spirit of prophecy, 
but, uevertheless, I venture to predict, that when the 



K A T 1 N . 21 

historian's pen shall Avritc tlic rcronl of our ocntiiry, it 
will trace no name more liouoicd. uojic more revered — 
to be lisped for generations hy tlu- iiilJmt's ton;z:ue and 
tremble on the lips of at-c — than that of Ahkaiiam 
Lincoln ! 

We have the satislhction of Irclin-- a .LTalciul ])ride 
m the part Avliich the State of HIkxIc Island lias taken, 
through its authorities and its people, in the preserva- 
tion of the Kepublic. Through all classes and condi- 
tions pervades the same spirit. Our adopted citizens, 
in this as in other communities, rivalling in patriotism 
those who are '" native here and to the manner born," 
have freely shed their blood for the defence of the land 
that has given them asylum. In the enterprises of 
freedom, all lines of distinction fall away. and. shoulder 
to shoulder, stand our citizens regardless of the ties of 
birth. For to each and all there has been but one 
country and one cause. 

Nor let the deeds of woman be forgotten. Here, as 
throughout the loyal States, she has risen above the 
weakness of her sex, and demanded the opportunity^ of 
sacrifice and duty. In the hospital, dark with pain and 
disease, she has proved the angel of consolation, and 
has wreathed the horrid front of war with tlowers of 
gentleness and charity. The daintiest fingers have 
been actively employed, whde she who could, with rigid 
economy, only spare an hour from her household tasks, 
has given that widow's mite — '' all the living that she 
had " — to the mitigation of the soldier's lot. As her 
sufferings are remembered in her anxieties and griefs, 
and her unwearied labors are kept in mind, let woman 
be forever honored in the grateful e^iteem of the 
American people. 



22 



ORATION. 



In the days of peril, Rhode Island has always been 
found faithfid. She has proved, even m her own case 
that rebellion could not live within her borders. She 
has never faltered in the field. She has never failed in 
council. The commendation -which was passed upon 
her troops in the war of the Eevolution, may safel}^ be 
passed upon them in the war of the preservation. Now 
as then, her merchants and men of wealth have mani- 
fested their unselfish patriotism by deeds of generosity 
not surpassed and scarcely equalled. Now, as then, the 
homes of the people have borne witness to the greatest 
sacrifices cheerfully made, and the most arduous duties 
faithfully performed. Now, as then, the life-ljlood of 
her sons — Slocum. Ballou, Prescott, Tower, Tillinghast, 
Pearce, Bartholomew and their l^rave compatriots — has 
consecrated her history. Now, as then, she has given to 
the nation, almost upon the same fields, a general second 
to none. In the war of the Revolution, she sent 
Nathaniel Greene, the trusted friend of Washington. 
In the war of 1812, she gave to the countrj^, Oliver 
Hazard Perry, the hero of our Western lakes. In this 
great strife for the Union, she has contributed her 
adopted son, fit to stand with them in the reception of 
a nation's confidence and love, and equal to the posi- 
tion — the Chevalier Bayard of the war, sans jyeur ei 
sans reproche — Ambrose Everett Burnside! 

My fellow countrjnnen, there is but little more for 
me to say. The occjision itself speaks. Events make 
their appeal. History grows from the words and acts 
of this glorious hour. The time for speech passes. The 
time for action comes apace. We have more conflicts 
of love and duty to meet; more deeds of self-devotion 
to perform. The victories which we have won should 



ORATION. 23 

arouse our enthusiasm, t,, n;,in still laiycr trimnplis. 
The cleleats Avhich we have sulliTrd. cvcii tlioii-h \\iry 
bring us sorrow and humiliation, should yetdecpen our 
earnestness and increase, even as they try, our I'aitli. 
The warfare of ideas in this great contest is not to he 
ended in a day. The pri/e is too costly, and the stake 
too great, for that. Let us then lift ui) our lieart.s and 
hands; be encouraged, emboldened, inspired, for every 
brave and noble duty. Whatever this crisis of a na- 
tion's hfe may demand of us, let us be ready to give it, 
even though it be the hist and greatest possession — 
our very lives. The unsuccessful heroism of the army 
of the Potomac, and its gallant and skillful General, in 
front of Richmond, tinging with sadness the rejoicings 
of the day, M'hile it commands our admiration, should 
incite us to emulate it upon more fortunate fields to 
grander results. The brave deeds of the living, the 
sacred memories of the dead, invoke us to be true to 
the duty which the hour l^rings. 

Let us take counsel of our hopes ; let us use our op- 
portunities; let us faithfully employ the time. "We 
may go to the field and share its dangers. We may 
remain at home, and there perform the duties which 
our patriotism commands. Cherishing a love of coun- 
try, a love of freedom and a love of justice, in every 
place, we shall be able to do some work in behalf of our 
great cause. Then, when the task is finished, and the 
nation stands free from the danger of domestic insur- 
rection and foreign war, great, noble, forever secure and 
forever strong, each one of us may have the proud con- 
sciousness of fidelity, and say : — •• I, 1 also have aidkd l\ 
THE Preservation of the PiEi'UBLic ! " 



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